Pulverizer for oil-engines.



' state.

'UNrrED sfrarns Parana onirica.

HERMANN LEMP, OF ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

PULVERIZER FOR OIL-ENGINES,

recaen.

To all; 1v/mmv' may concern Be it known that l, HERMANN LEMP, a citizen of the United States, residing at Erie, county of Erie, State of Pennsylvania., have invented certain new and useful lmprovcments in Pulverizers for Oil-Engines, 'of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to so-called pulverizers for internal combustion oil engines and especially to those of the constant pressure type. These pulverizers must be so constructed that they will inject fuela such as crude oil for example, into the combustion space of the cylinder in a finely divided Another and fnndan'iental requiremen'tof such a device is that it will, when the needle valve'is opened to admit the blast air to the combustion space, discharge the fuel contained therein as cmnpletely as possible, said fuel having been delivered under pressure to the chamber, well or pocket in the pulverizer during the closed period of the needle valve 4by a. measuring device, such as a pump for example. This latter feature is of the utmost. importance because if even a small amount of fuel is left in the pulverizer it will at some succeeding opening of the needle valve pass into the combustion space together With the measured (piantity of fuel. as determined by the governor, and give rise to speed irregularities. l'n other words, there Will be too little fuel delivered at one timefor av given position of the governing mechanism, and at other times too much. This is especially noticeable at light loads because the said small amount bears a greater percentage ratio to the total amount than at greater loads.

In certain pulverizers with which I am acquainted the fuel is fed into a vertically disposed chamber at its lowest point and all the fuel above a certain level or dam is swept out by the blast air when the needle valve is opened. Such pulverizers While generally operating satisfactorily when occupying vertical positions are defect-ive or inoperative when placed horizontally-(as for example, in a vertical engine of the opposed piston type) chiefly because the fuel collects at one side of the well or chamber and cannot be fully cleaned out with each opening of the needle valve. ln such an engine it is impossible to place the pulveriZcr vertically vithont making a sacrifice in economy on Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 11, 1912.

Patented Aug. 5,1913.

Serial No. 725,111.

the. one hand, or simplicity of construction on the other, or both. i

The object of my invention is to provide an improved pulverizer for use in a horizontal position which meets all the fundamental requirements specified and which is free from the objections above noted.

For consideration of What l believe to be novel in my invention, attention is directed to' the accompanying description and the claims appended thereto.

In the accompanying drawing, which is illustrative of my invention, Figure l is a view in end elevation of a constant pressure engine having oppositely moving` pistons and equipped with my improved pulverizer; F ig. 2 is a longitudinal `section of the pulverizer; Fig. 3` is a cross section taken on line 3--3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is an axial sec-v tion of a slightly modified pulverizer; Fig. is a crosssection taken -on line 5--5 of Fig. 4.-: Fig. 6 is a perspective diagrammatic view illustrating the Well, pocket or fuel trap formed in the fuel chamber, and Fig. 7 is a detail View showing one end of the plug shown in Fig. 2.

l indicates the base of the engine, and 2. the vertical cylinder thereof.

3 and 4 indicatesrespectively the upper and lower pistons. Between the pistons is formed a combustion chamber 5 to which fuel is admitted from the pulverizer 6 under the control of a lever 7 and cam 8, the latter being driven by the main shaft of the engine.

l have shown my improved pulverizer in connection with a vertical engine having oppositely moving pistons. lt can, however, be applied to engines in which each cylinder is provided with only a single piston.

Referring to Fig. 2, 9 indicates a horizontally disposed casing that is provided with a beveled end which is seated pressure tight in the cylinder wall. The left hand end of quo the casing is bored outto receive the discharge device or llame plate 10 which is provided With one or more orifices 1l through which` the mixture of fuel and high pressure air is injected into tlf combustion space. The iame plate may be screw threaded into place, or secured in any other suitable manner. Situated Within and .snugly fitting 'the casing is a removable plug or member i9. which is tapered at its left hand end and is seated pressure tight on a similar face formed on the inside of the easing. The plug is provided with a central bor-e or opening 13 which is only slightly larger than the valve stein. and gradually diverges from about a 'mid position to its discharge end. This arrangement forms a nozzle in which the air passing thro-ugh the pulverizcr is accelerated and at the same inne its pressure is reduced. The object of this arrange mentl is to insure such a drop in. pressure will permit the fuel to be forced from the fuel chamber through small passages into the bore of the plug or member.` as will ap pear more fully hereinafter. The right hand end of the plug' is eut away to forni an air chamber lllV between it and the inner wall of the casing; said chamber recciving` the blast or high pressureair from the conduit lll-a. l`hechan'iber communicates by a, plurality of relatively small a ugularl y disposed passages l with the main bore ot' the noz zle plug, said passages acting; to throttle the air pressure. The plug; is held in place by a nut 16 o't' suitable construction. Passing through the nut and plug'. and arranged to engage a beveled seat formed on thel easing, is a needle valve 17 which controls the admission of fuel to the engine and is actuated by the lever 7. Between thc nut and plug is located a washer or wicking ld, there the needle valve passes through the nut it iS provided with a packingv 20 of any suitable construction which is, compressed by the -gland nut 2l. As it is sometimes neces" sary to remove these plugs from the casing for cleaningpurposes, said plug is provided with screw threads to receive a suitable witlulrawing tool.

I3 -ftween the plug' and thc inner wall of the easing.;n is a fuel chamber 2st made in the form of'a spiral groove which is elrsed at its left hand end and is opened at its right hand end to the blast air contained in `the chamber 14. 'l' he spiral `gimme may he formed wholly in the casing; or wholly 'in the plugy or partly in the casing` and partly inthe plug. l prefer7 however, to form the groove proper wholly in the plug as shown because of. simplicity in ma-mifaeture and because the cross sectional area thereof can he more :uicurately determined. The cross sectional arca of this chamber is( `gelatively large. lts size will depend chiefly upon the output of the engine, to which the pulverizer is applied. It should be large enough to receive all of the fuel necessary to drive the engine under full load witlrout. said fuel flowing into the air chamber 14;. The critical thing is to prevent ifetciition of 'fuel any where in the spiral passage after the needle valve opens. Preferably the size ofthe groove will be such that all the fuel re quired at, full load will be retalned in one turn of the spiral, The air or blast presf meegaat in order to convey fuel from its chamber v Qll into the diverujingr portion Yt3 of the new Zle plug where a pressure less than the pres* sure in the air ehan'iber `ll exists when the valvil lT is open, a plurality of angularly dispesed passages are provided. ythese passages may be perpendicula r to the axis of the valve. li. or they may be slightly inclined to the lett as shown so Vas; to increase of the blast of air as it rushesl through the nozzle on its way to the engine. The pas sages 25. if the best ettcets are to he obtained, should be very ysmall in cross section and numerous. They should beur such a relation to the fuel chamber that, the blast air from the chamber .1t can torre all the fuel in the. porlv'et in the chamber into fthe engine al each opening` otI the valve. l'y makingthe. rfi-riss sectional area of the spiral groove .large enough the pressure available for tbreing the fuel through these passages will lV substantially equal to that contained in the chamber lift. '.he diit'l'er eure in pressure existing between the. en trance and discharge ends of the small ra dial passages will be governed chielly by the divergence of the bore or nefs/.le portion of the plug. By varying,` this livergfg'eneey a er eater or less ditferenco in pressure can he obtained for a 'given supply pressure.

Fuel is admitted to the bottom of the pocket in the spiral chamber by the passage QG that extends longitudinally through the, easing' and conmiunifaites with the inlet El'. the latter being` connected to a pump of suitable construction. This pump (not shown) should be calable of delivering; oil under a pressure which is substantially greater than the pressure of the air blast in chamber llt. The connectifui between the eil passage Q6 and the spiral supply chamber should be made at the bottom of one of the turns of the spiral and preferably near its closed end so that. only a limited amount of purr air will precede the oil supply into the cylinder. kThis feature is more clarly shown in the diagrammatic illustration Fin) G, from which it will be seen that the bottom of each turn orbend in the spiral forms a U pocket or well 2S, and that, the fuel is delivered to the bottom of said bench well -or poclv'et.

his figure also illustrates an .annular ffl-"amber 29 which forms the closed end .of th spiral chamber as illustrated more specitically in Fig. t.

For the purpose of more clearlyjillustralm ing" the principle of operation of .my intein the suction and mixing or pulverizingv elfe/rt4 lill tion I have in Fig. 6 shown the`oil passage 2l and the annular chamber 29 as though they were formed of tubing. This figure also illustrates the discharge passages 31.

Referring to Fig. il, the remo able plug l2 is 'made in two parts; that is to say, the main portion surrounded by the spiral groove, and the end portion 3() which is tapered and seated in the casing. Either on the main portion or on the end portion 30, projections are formed between which are small grooves 3l, forming passages through which fuel passes from the annular cham- 'ber Q9 to the diver-ging portion of the nozzle. 'These passages should be made small and numerous. For the purpose of illustration I have made them relatively large since otherwiseit would be difficult to see them.

This arrangement has the advantage that the passages can be readily cleaned if they become plugged up with foreign matter, and also that they can be accurately machined. It will be seen that the fuel is introduced at the lowest point in one of the turnsl or bends. of the spiral near the discharge. end of the plug, and that the fuel is free to flow left and right from the lower portion, said portion forming a trap, pocket or well. It will also be noted that since the right hand end of the spiral is in free communication with the chamber li containing the airblastpressure that as the charges of fuel become greater they occupy more space in the supply-chamlier and work back against said air pressure. c()wing to the fact that fuel is introduced into the pocket in the spiral chamber in the manner stated, it follows that) when the needle valve is opened all of the fuel contained in said pocket must be forced by the blast air blowing through the chamber into and through the small passages 25 into the enlarged bore of the plug, and therefore, be carried with the blast air through the\ nozzle ll into the combustion space.

Practical use of the pulverizer shown' herein has demonstrated that the fuel will be finely divided as it passes through the pulverizer and will be intimately mixed with the blast air and the compressedair in the cylinder.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes,I have described the principle ot' operation of my invention, together with the apparatus which I now consider to representthe best embodiment thereof; but I desire to have it understood that the apparatus shown is only illustrative, and that the invention can be carried out by other means.

lVhat I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Iatent of the United States, is

l. ln a fuel pulverizer, the'combination of a hollow member having a fuel chamber open at one end and closed at the other which contains a bend intermediate its ends thatiforms a trap for fuel supplied thereto, a conduit for supplying fuel to the bottom portion of said bend, small passages leading from said chamber near its closed end to the interior of said member, means for conveying elastic fluid under-'pressure tothe hollow member and to the open end of the. 'chamber for forcing fuel from said bend through the said passages, a valve that controls the action of fiuid under pressure on the fuel, and .i casing for the member.

2. In a pulverizer, the combination -of acasing, a plug fitted therein having an i11- ternal bore made in the form of a nozzle to cause a pressure drop between its ends, there being a fuel chamber formed between the casing and the periphery of the plug that is closed at one end and open at the other, and contains a bend intermediate its ends forming a trap, a needle valve which passes through the bore, is separated by a small space from the wall of-the bore and engages a seat carried by the casing, a conduit for supplying fuel to said bend at a low point, a plurality of small passages extending from the chamber near its closed end into the enlarged part of said nozzle bore, and a conduit for freely supplying air under pressure to the open end of the fuel chamber and a restricted amount/of air to said bore.

3. In a pulverizer, the combination of a casing, a plug snugly fitted into the casing which is provided with an external spiral groove formi-ng a fuel chamber that is closed at oneend and open at the other and has an internal bore made in the form ofa nozzle to cause a pressure drop between its ends, the plug and casing being so related that the casing forms the outer wall ofsaid groove, a valve which passes loosely through the bore and engages a seat carried by the casing, a conduit. for supplying fuel to the groove at a point near its closed end, a plurality of small passages extending from the chamber near its closed end into the enlarged part of the bore of the plug, kand means for simultaneously admitting blast air to the nozzle and also to the open end of the spiral groove. I

4t. In a fuelpulverizer, the combination of a casing, a plug fitted therein containing a diverging orifice, there being a fuel c hamber of spiral forinbetween the two which is closed at one end, one of the turns of said chamber forming a pocket, a conduit for supplying fuel'against the blastpressure to the bottom of said pocket from which it is free to flow both right and left, a needle valve that passes through the plug but out of contact therewith, and a plurality of small angular-ly' disposed passages that eX- tend from the portion of the chamber on the discharge side of the pocket into the diverging portion of the orifice in the pluv. A

- 5. In a fuel pulverizer, the combinationl isof of :t horizontal easing, :L plugtted therein nozzle oriee when the valve is open, and eonlnnng u rlvergng nozzle oriee, there e lneanS for simultaneously supplyihg air being :t fuel ol'nunhez' between the easing I under high pressure to the chamber and :xml plug which is open at one end and terorifice. y 15 minutes'n u closed annular portion :1t the l ln Witness whereof; I have hereunto Set other, said chamber Containing a pocket hel my hand this fourth day of October, 1912. 4 tween its ends, a conduit admitting fuel HERMANN LEM?. to the bottom of sind pocket, n valve, a plurality of anguhn'ly disposed passages which Witnesses: y convey fuel from the closed annular por- B. H. ARNOLD,

tion into the enlarged part of the (livel-ging W. J. BRESMER. 

